


Messenger of Death

by Kakashisith



Series: Of Walkers and feelings. [2]
Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Anger, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Blood and Torture, Cannibalism, Corpses, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Fake Character Death, Hannibal Lecter is a Cannibal, Heavy Drinking, Hurt Rick, Jealousy, Kidnapping, M/M, Mythology References, Philip Blake | The Governor Being an Asshole, Prison (Walking Dead), Protective Daryl Dixon, Shane Walsh Lives, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:08:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23988631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kakashisith/pseuds/Kakashisith
Summary: After being kidnapped by Governor`s thugs on a supply run, Rick Grimes makes a discovery, that someone he thought he`d killed, is actually alive. And very angry. Also my POW about Alpha`s life, when she was still together with her husband Frank and how she killed him. And became Alpha. And... Woodbury is in trouble with a cannibal, who`s killing off Governor`s men.
Relationships: Andrea/Philip Blake | The Governor, Andrea/Shane Walsh, Daryl Dixon/Rick Grimes, Philip Blake | The Governor/Rick Grimes, Rick Grimes/Shane Walsh, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Series: Of Walkers and feelings. [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1838542
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> /- memories

A bald man was kneeling in the deep grass and holding his hand against the stomach.  
"Goddammit!"  
He was bleeding, but nothing fatal. Luckily.  
Slowly he got up to his knees and looked around. Night had fallen fast upon the land. No more than an hour ago the sky was painted with hues of red, orange and pink, but all colour had faded leaving only a matt black canvas with no stars to be looked upon. How long had he been unconscious after his now ex-friend had hit him with a knife? Hours? Minutes? He didn`t know.  
Other than the darkness and himself all that seemed to exist was the chilly wind that’s harsh bite could be felt through his cloak. He could feel the hairs on his arm raised and the bite of the wind had left its mark in the form of small bumps that were tingling on his arms, but its bite was more than flesh deep. His blood ran cold through his veins and his bones were chilled.  
Something was wrong. He could hear distand moaning and groaning. Zombies!  
He remembered, that nearby should be his gun, so he started to look for it. He could see some of them coming closer, dangerously closer...  
They had a sloppy gait as they approached slowly. Their jaws dislocated showing their torn tongues and blood stained teeth. They moaned as they smelt the blood in the air and ate those who fought pinned on the ground. Skin peeled away from their bones and organs, showing their black hearts.  
The zombie approaching Shane was detestable to look at. It's dirty yellow eyes staring into his eyes looked so empty and void of life. The zombie`s skin was like old crinkled paper and his lips the color of rusted iron. It's jaw which was open too wide displayed a set of rotting yellow teeth. The veins were about to burst from his bald head and blood was splattered like red paint all over his face and hands. His hands were like sticks with their flesh almost falling off but the disgusting rotting nails were what creeped Shane. Torn off from the fingers hanging on the edge they seemed like a drowning man holding onto a stick , about to drown anytime.  
"Fuck..."  
He found his gun, with the silencer still on.  
Pop! Pop! The walking corpse was down, but Shane had to leave the place as quickly as he could. In the distance, he could see, that everything was on fire.  
How did that happen? He didn`t know and didn`t care.  
The zombies were mostly around the burning farm. They weren’t horrific because they were decaying. They were horrible because they still looked human. Aside from the missing patches of flesh and the torn clothing, the drying blood and white and red eyes, they looked normal.  
Somehow, without catching too much attention, Shane managed to slip into the woods. There he was; wounded, but still alive. He had to keep moving.  
His knife-wound was hurting like hell, but it didn`t seem that serious. Well, at least he wasn`t collapsing somewhere under the trees, not yet.  
Shane found a car in the middle of this mess, abandoned, keyes still on.  
"Perfect!"  
He needed to leave this place, the fire, the zombies.  
Distance was all that mattered. Shane Walsh wasn't stopping for anything and he sure as hell wasn't taking his foot of the gas for a little rain. He didn`t know, how long he had been driving between the trees, but then he once again saw the highway.  
He remembered, when Sophia got lost, Hershel`s farm, zombies in the barn... everything. Luring Rick out, getting stabbed...  
He was tired and in pain, but he kept on driving, moving between abandomed machines carefully. He wanted to check if the news were still on.  
In that instant he lost the opportunity to evade a newly broken-down car without it's lights off. Even if he'd been paying attention she would have been hard pressed to make the manoeuvre.  
"Shit..."

The car had flipped so many times that Shane had become disorientated before he even sustained the concussion that had him drifting in and out of consciousness. He was fleetingly aware of the bloody taste in his mouth but he couldn't figure out what it was.  
At times his eyelids fluttered and Shane thought he must be at home in bed because it was so dark. Then why the cold and the sound of rain on metal? Why those slow, creeping movements nearby? The neverending moaning...  
Why the pain, God, why so much pain?  
Then it all came back to him. He was wounded and escaping from the burning farm. He was all alone by himself.  
Shane struggled to free himself only to be rewarded with more pain.  
Silence. Gunshots. Gunshots?  
Then a flashlight right into his face. Shane narrowed his eyes.  
"Hey, boss, this one is still alive!"  
A familiar voice. But how? Who?  
"Careful Merle, he might be bitten."  
Merle Dixon, the older of Dixon brothers. But the voice was unknown to Shane.  
The short haired man peeked in. "Well-well, what happened to you?" he asked.  
"Help me...out!" groaned Shane Walsh.  
"Not so fast!" ordered the older Dixon. "Are you bit?"  
"No!"  
"But you`re bleeding?!"  
"Stabbed, not bitten. Now help me out!"  
With a little help of Merle Shane got out of the car. Then he looked around. The same highway where they had lost Sophia, not much farther. Looking at Merle Shane could see, that the man had lost a part of his hand. Just like Daryl and Rick had told him, that the severed arm was still on the roof.  
"Thank...you."  
Merle laughed. "Don`t thank me, but this man here-"he looked at the thin, but tall man next to him. Something in this man made Shane feel kinda uneasy. There was something angry in him, or even bitter. Shane offered his hand.  
"Shane Walsh."  
The tall man nodded thoughtfully. "Philip Blake. Or as I am being called...the Governor."  
Shane nodded, gritting his teeth in pain. "Can you do something with my wound?"  
Merle looked at the Governor questioningly. Philip Blake nodded, he seemed to understand the question.  
"We`ll take you to Woodbury and you get fine treatment. Shane...was that your name?"  
The wounded man smiled. "Yeah."

/ Shane watched Rick carefully, his gun pointed at his former partner, former friend.   
"So this is where you`re planning to do it?" Rick asked, while slowly turning around.   
"It`s as good place as any."Shane replied with low voice.  
"You still don`t have the balls to call it what it is?"Rick roughlt asked, eyeing Shane, hoping he would let him go.  
"Murder." Rick continued in low, sad tone."You really believe, that if you walk to the farm without me..."  
"No! Shut up!" Shane cut him off.  
"You really believe that they`re going to buy any bullshit story you cook up?" Rick asked, his voice cracking, as he moved around Shane.   
"Let`s just say that ain`t no story. I saw that prisoner shoot you down, I followed him and stepped on his neck. It ain`t gonna be easy."Shane explained."but Carl and Lori will get over you." Shane had angry look in his eyes already.   
"They`ve done it before."he continued, holding Rick at gun point."They just gonna have to..."  
"Why? Why now?" I thought we worked this all out..."Rick asked, walking towards Shane, who still aimed at him with his gun.  
Shane chuckled."We just hadn`t killed each other, man! What did you think? That I just forget it all? That we just ride off into the sun set together?" Shane asked sarcastically.  
"You`re just gonna kill me in cold blood?" Rick asked, backing up slowly. "Screw my wife? Have my son call you daddy? Is that what you want?"  
Shane put the gun down for a second."Man, what do you know about me? You have no idea what I have to live with! "he pointed the gun to his own chect."Come on Rick, you want me gone so do it!"   
"No, no...I will not!" Rick sighed, looking down.   
"Come on Rick I thought you weren`t the good guy anymore. Is that what you said, man?" Shane teased him. "Even right now right here you ain`t gonna fight for her? For them? I am better father than you! Better husband then you! I am better leader than you! Cause I am better man, than you, Rick!"Shane spat out."But you come back and ruin everything!"  
The life and death situation turned into a heated and dangerous argument.  
"You got a broken woman, Rick!" Shane panted out, "You got a weak boy. You got a weak group!" Shane pulled his gun out again. "Pull out your gun, Rick..."  
"You gonna have to kill an unarmed man, Shane. Not even you can do that."Rick threw his gun to the ground."The Shane I knew would never have killed an unarmed man."  
Shane hesitated.  
"Watch my hand... nice and easy..."/  
Shane woke up from his nightmare with a groan. He was still alive, the room around him was dark.


	2. Chapter 2

Shane went to the door and opened it. He stepped into a twilight corridor. It was dead silend.  
"Wonder, where the fuck am I..."murmured Shane under his breath. "Is this the place, where Merle wanted to bring me?"  
He touched his stomach- the stabwound had been patched and was already healing. No infection at all.  
"I wonder, if this is my lucky day..."  
A door opened and man with glasses and dark blond hair walked outside. He saw Shane and smiled.  
"Welcome to Woodbury, mister...?"  
"Shane Walsh. Did you patch me up?"  
"Yeah."A nod. "Name is Milton Mamet. Nice to meet you."  
Both men shook hands.  
"You were lucky, by the way. One inch to the left and you might`ve lost your liver. May I ask, what happened?"  
"A little misunderstanding between ex-friends." Shane grinned.  
Milton Mamet nodded again.  
"What about the man with no arm, Merle Dixon?"  
"He`s with the Governor. They`re best friends or something similar. Besides, Governor wants to see you in the afternoon."  
"Umm...okay then."  
Deep in his thoughts, Shane walked outside. Merle Dixon had lost his hand because Rick had chained him to the roof... He himself was wounded, because Rick Grimes had stabbed him... Maybe he could get some new allies? Just maybe...  
If he only knew, where the others- Lori, Carl, Carol and Daryl Dixon were. His sick mind had started a plan, but he couldn`t do it alone.  
First things first, he had to find Merle Dixon.  
When he turned around the corner he saw the man he was looking for. Merle dixon was leaning against the wall and enjoyed a cigar.  
When he saw Shane, a wide grin formed on his tanned face. "I see you`re up, sunshine!"  
"Uh-huh."  
"How you`re feelin`? How did you get that wound of yours?"  
"From the same man who is responcible because you lost your arm."  
Merle`s eyes widened in disbelief. But then he grinned again.  
"Seems to me, that we got the same problem, man." he added. "If I gonna see this son of a bitch Officer friendly, he`s gonna wish that he`s dead!"  
"Count me in!"  
Merle laughed. "Old friends, as much as I can see."  
Shane Walsh didn`t answer. He had found a like-minded man. Just as twisted as himself. If he only knew, where his former group was.  
"Why did you guys pick Philip as your leader anyways?"  
"When he and his thugs found me bleeding in the woods, he was already - I ean Philip Blake- more or less the one in charge."Merle said, as he offered a cigar to Shane.  
"More or less?" asked Shane, taking the offered cigar.  
"There were so few of us back then and so scared of our own shadows or a bump in the night. The decisions were made by the guy with the most backbone."Merle explained." And more and more it was Philip."  
Shane nodded.  
"He made Woodbury work."

Later that evening Shane went to Governor`s so-called office.  
He went to the huge brick house and entered cautiously. Merle was already waiting for him, he was leading the way.  
"We found 2 women from the woods today."he pointed out. "I think you know one of them. Her name is Andrea."  
"Yeah, I know her, all right."  
Both men walked into a semi-dark room. There was something in the darkness that was like a promise, like the world before dawn. It was as if the daytime had been one part of a play and the rest was to come after this intermission of night.  
There was a faint stench in the air, like molten rubber, rot and something Shane couldn`t yet recognize.  
"Welcome!" came a low, familiar voice of the Governor. He had that rich, silky tone. He spoke as if he controlled the world, his experience seeping through. He would remind Shane of a stormy day. A nice one.  
Shane swallowed and smiled weakly. "Hello."  
The Governor had a grin filled with fake friendliness on his face. "So, I see you and Merle Dixon here know each other."  
Shane nodded.  
"That`s good. So maybe you guys can help me on the fence, shoot down the walkers. Besides an old friend of you is here."  
"So I`ve heard."

Shane wasn`t surprised, when he was invited to meet Andrea and her companion a few hours later.  
The blonde woman was sitting in the bed, while the brown-skinned lady was looking out of the window. She turned her head, when Shane and the Governor walked in.  
"So, you`re the Boss of this town?" asked the dark woman.  
"That`s right."answered the Governor. "Name is Philip Blake. This here is Shane."  
Andrea`s eyes widened. She had a little smile on her pale face.  
Michonne was still emotionless, not even a flinch.  
"Good to see, that you`re alive."Andrea smiled at Shane.  
"You know him?" asked the Governor. His tone was a mixture of curiosity and envy.  
Andrea nodded. "We were together in a farm with others, Rick, Lori, Carl..."  
Shane swore quietly, when Andrea mentioned Rick. "That asshole!"  



	3. Chapter 3

Philip looked at Andrea, Shane and Merle both confused an astonished. "Seems to me, that you three know each other?"  
"Look, what the cat dragged in!"Merle commented, grinning."The sugartits!"then he sighed."How`s my baby brother doing?"  
"He`s fine."smiled Andrea.  
"You never told me, how you lost your arm."commented Philip.  
"Andrea`s buddy left me chained to the roof. That`s how I got this."Merle said, holding up his prostetic hand-blade.  
"And Rick tried to kill me."Shane showed his already healing wound."He didn`t succeed."  
Andrea didn`t say anything. He knew about Lori and Shane. She just didn`t understand it.  
Shane`s glare remained focused at Merle, who smirked at him.  
"You got an eye problem, deputy Walsh?"Merle asked."You seem to love eyeballin` at me and the Governor."  
Andrea quickly covered Shane." He`s just surprised and tired."  
Philip noded."I can give you girls a lot of oil. "  
Before Michonne could disagree, Andrea answered. "We stay."

Andrea didn`t turn herself around, when she heard the shower door open and close. The hot water hitting her sweating body was a luxury Andrea hadn`t experienced in a long time. She wanted to enjoy that time by herself, lost in her thoughts.  
With Shane standing behind her in the showertall, she didn`t have alone time at all. She wasn`t sure, if she liked Shane or was interested about the Governor. Something was in this man, something strong and dangerous.  
She didn`t remember, how her and Shane left the shover stall, if he scooper her up in his arms, how he placed her in bed. Shane had never said, that they were together. And if they weren`t together, why did he send angry glare to Philip Blake, who asked if they were a couple?

/Shane Walsh:"You think I'd shoot Rick? That is my best friend. That's the man that I love, I love him like he's my brother. You think that's the kind of man I am?"  
Dale Horvath: "That's right".  
Shane Walsh: "Well maybe we oughta just think that through. See, if I'm the kind of man that would gun down his own best friend, what'd you think I do to some guy I don't even like when he starts throwing accusations my way. What'd you think?”/

Shane woke up with a gasp; his wound was itching, but no infection. He grinned, something evil crossed his mind.  
Later he walked around in Woodbury, checking the community. There were shops, that had been boarded up, although a few were open. He passed the "Town Hall", where he had met Andrea after she was found. There were several apartment buildings. He watched as everyone moved around without a care in the world. Like they didn`t care about today or tomorrow. They were untouched by the fact that outside the walls Walkers roamed around devouring the living. Shane wondered if they knew how to survive outside. He did.  
He walked around to see, if there was anything he should be suspicious about. He wasn`t going to part with his Mossberg 590 or Glock 17.  
He carried the former over his shoulder and the latter was tucked in his cargo pants.  
Then he heard the Governor call him. "Shane! Just the man I needed!"  
Shane raised his head curiosily. "Governor." he smiled. "What`s up?"  
"Seems to me, that some of my men have gone missing while on mission. I need you and Merle to investigate."  
"You sure this ain`t the Walkers doing?"  
"We cleared that area about a month ago. Pretty sure."  
Shane nodded thoughtfully. It sounded like he`ll get finally some action. Danger didn`t scare him, he needed adrenaline.

"Good afternoon, Andrea."Philip Blake greeted her with a broad smile.  
She`d been walking around in Woodbury when she ran into him. He was outside talking to a group on people when he noticed her. He excused himself from the group and came to see her.  
"How was your rest last night? Got some sleep?"  
Andrea hesitated a split second before answering. "Quite okay... you know, it`s hard to sleep in a new place."  
"I know what you mean. I hope you`ll get used to by living here."  
She decided to use his first name. "Thanks, Philip."  
Philip smiled. "My pleasure. You`re already here, so I might indroduce you some folks."He took her hand and led her to the group he`d left before. "Everybody, this is Andrea, our newest member."  
It was a group of five people, 2 men and 3 women from different racial backgrounds and ages.  
"Welcome to Wodbury." and elderly woman said.  
"This is Mrs. Connor."Philip said. "She`s the matriarch of Woodbury, keeps watch on everybody. She knows everything about living here, in Woodbury."  
"It`s very nice to meet you."Andrea said, shaking her hand.  
"I`ll be soon back."Philip commented." I`ll take Andrea to a walk through the town."

The forest was quiet and Hannibal was running. There had been no walking corpses for days, possibly the gringos from Woodbury had taken care of them.  
Hannibal could feel his shadow behind him. He left a trail of Darkness, where ever he set his feet.  
There was a young woman infront of him. He couldn`t see her face, but he could smell her.  
She blinked. She had the eyes of a deer. She blinked again. This time she had the eyes of a wolf.  
She blinked again. She was just a human. Weak, afraid.  
She was standing still, trying to catch her breath.   
Hannibal could feel her breath rolling out of her lungs, she was panting heavily. He lunged.  
She didn`t move fast enough to evade the hit.  
The blade punctured her stomach. With a quiet sob, she fell to the ground, bleeding.   
It was over...


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drekavac  
> /- means inner thoughts.

Shane and Merle went out, armed with rifles and shotguns. To find the missing people.  
The latest missing person was a young girl, who according to her older sister, went out to gather some food and medicine.  
Milton Mamet had asked the girl to go out and she never returned.  
After walking about an hour, carefully avoiding to make any unneccesary sound, the duo reached an old town.  
The ghost town was out of place in the rolling hills of yellowing grass. The old road was barely discernible through the flora that had colonized it and so the dilapidated buildings that once fashioned a high-street had the feel of a movie set. But this was no million dollar venture, these were tear-downs that no-one had any incentive to demolish. They were inhabited by the birds and sometimes sheltered wild dogs. The occasional window was still in possession of its glass but most had broken so long ago that there was no trace of the shards on the rotting plank floors. In most homes the roofs had partially caved in or at the very least they sagged like a disappointing soufflé. The only welcome was the howl of the wind and the only future of the town was to be slowly beaten by the weather and eventually succumb to gravity without even a witness or person to mourn its passing. But something was wrong there.  
In the middle of a grassy street was a corpse. The corpse was almost devoid of skin and pitted by burrowing insects. Shane turned away as his stomach heaved, nostrils filled with the smell of rotting meat. Without eyelids the milky blue eyes stared into the frozen sky while the lip-less mouth hung open.  
The stomach was cut open and the smell was breathtakingly awful.  
Merle grinned aswell, the view was really nasty.  
"Ugh,"he groaned, "that`s not Walker`s doing."  
Shane nodded. "Seems, that we got a cannibal here..."  
"And a very clever one."Merle looked around. "We should check this ghost town around."  
Another place they found, was an old graveyard. This graveyard looked ancient, yet new. Gravestones lined the eerie graveyard, Some recently placed, whereas others, cracked  
and crumbling. Mould covered the engravings dedicated to the dead, trees leaning towards the stones, branches reaching out to each other. Spiked, black fences surrounded the graveyard almost like it was a prison. The smell of old stone filled the dry air, weeds covering the graves of the dead, loved ones long since stopped visiting. Gravel paths weave through the maze of graves, allowing passers by to pay their respects to the people lined up in the earths embrace.  
Suddenly a weird sound reached Merle`s ears. It was like a baby crying, but it sounded...ghostly.  
"Drekavac!" hissed Merle between his teeth. "We should leave."  
"What? Afraid of unbodied sound?!"  
Merle didn`t answer, his face told everything Shane Walsh needed to know.

A dark blond man with brown eyes peeked out of a window, narrowing his eyes.  
"They found the girl, Will."  
Out of the twilight came a younger man with curly hair and unshaved face. He was growing a small beard and whiskers.  
"Are we in danger, Hannibal?"  
"I don`t think so. The Drekevac- sound spooked them off."  
"You`re clever as always, love."  
A smile spread across the taller man`s face. "Thank you."  
"How are our guests doing?"  
Hannibal stretched his shoulders. "The man...Frank I believe, is arguing with his wife. Their daughter Lydia just ignores everything. I can understand her."  
He locked eyes with Will Graham and he saw just how deep they really were. They're not a solid brown. Spirals of earthy brown colliding with honey droplets and even a green color fill those two orbs with magnificent light.

/* I might be the only non-zombie in Baltimore. Might...  
It may look like the zombies destroyed it, but it`s just Baltimore... Two months since the first person got infected the chaos hit the town. Just two months and almost everyone was zombified. I may seem line an un-likely survivor with all my lazyness but I had an advantage of never having any friends or any close family. Mischa was dead for 2 decades.  
I survived because I played it safe and followed my own rules.  
But then I suddenly found Will Graham again. I thought that he was dead, but he wasn`t...*/

Hannibal walked downstairs. He could hear the woman yelling at her husband and daughter.  
"You worthless piece of trash!" screamed she. "Why did I marry you."  
"Mother..."Lydia begun.  
"Shut up! Just...shut up!"  
"But!"  
A sound of the hand hitting the girl`s cheek.  
Hannibal opened the door and looked around. Lydia was holding her tiny hand against the spot where her mother had hit her, the woman was angry, Frank was irritated.  
"Hello there, mister..."begun the woman cheekily. Her entire face seemed drained of any signs of joy and amusement, instead her frumpy cheeks told a tale of regular displeasure.  
Hannibal nodded. "Getting comfortable?" he asked, hint of irony in his cold tone.  
His eyes went from the woman to Frank, then to Lydia. Lydia was older than she appeared. Willowy and without a bust she could pass for twelve, but in truth she was closer to sixteen.  
*What a shame,*thought Hannibal, *this poor girl will either be a zombie`s meat or becomes a killer.*  
The woman grinned at him. "I think, we should find ourselves a safe place."  
Hannibal nodden in agreement. "This place is kinda safe, the entire village... until another horde arrives." he took a breath. "I`d prefer privacy, but your yelling will sooner or later attract of not alive, than walking dead here."  
Frank stepped closer. "You want us to go?"  
"If you can`t quit screaming at each other like a bunch of five-year olds, you should take another house." Hannibal tried to sound diplomatical, but he was tired of this racket.  
He went back up again, where Will was sitting and reading a book.  
Hannibal looked at him, then just grinned and commented: “I do not think you are taking my wisdom very seriously today, Will...”  
Will, trying not to look distracted; “Yeah, no; totally listening. Totally NOT thinking about boning you..sooo... demonic sexuality huh...?”  
Hannibal: “sigh”  
Will stood up, looking his partner deep in the eyes. "Now, when you got rid of the annoying trio downstairs..."  
Hannibal grinned again.  



	5. Chapter 5

Four centuries of this damned immortality  
Yet, I did not ask to be made  
Why?  
I will never again feel your sun upon my face  
Or the comfort of a grave  
I am not alive and I am not dead  
This is Hell on earth  
How can I possibly explain this eternal youth?  
When I can do nothing, but sit by  
As my loves grow old and wither  
And with each of them, take a fragment of my heart  
and prolong this endless winter  
It is October's perpetual agony  
It is the shadow realm  
Father, please forgive him  
For he knows not what to do  
With every victim I pray for my own death  
And as much as I love the night  
I curse the moons eerie glow  
This blood lust that drags me forever  
The toxic rays of dawn that condemn me to limbo  
I am forced to dwell in gray Autumnal twilight  
I am suspended in dusk  
Father, please forgive him  
For he knows not what to do  
Father, please forgive him  
For he knows not what to do...  
Hannibal and Will were drinking wine. Will Graham had found it from the dusty attac a week before.  
"So, they`re packing." mentioned Will.  
"Just now?" asked Hannibal, raising his eyebrows,"I thought they`re already gone!"  
Will shook his head, so his curly dark hair flew around his face. "The little girl was actually very sad. What`s her name... Lydia. She said something like momma`s mad again, bad things gonna happen..."  
Hannibal nodded. "Bad things are already happening, but not in this particular house."  
"I agree." Will smiled a bit.

On their way back Shane and Merle found another man missing from Woodbury.  
Dead, of course, but in what state... The heart had been cleaved from the body. The arteries, now drained of their life fluid, stuck out like so many rubber hoses. The skin had been peeled back and pinned with iron nails, haphazardly banged in with a household hammer. The ribs cage had been cracked and pried open, the whiteness of the bone shone out in the sea of flesh. The face was now the greyish colour of a cadaver and the detective couldn't help but wonder how much of the procedure the victim had lived through. Certainly their were rope burns on the wrists and ankles. But the mouth wasn't gagged. Maybe the killer enjoyed the screams. If so, this wouldn't be the last victim.  
"I think we have a Cannibal,"noted Shane dryly.  
"What makes you say that?" asked Merle.  
"I was a cop, I`ve seen things. Kinda similar, in Chesapeake. We thought that we had a serial killer."  
Merle`s eyes narrowed. "You don`t say..."  
"The Chesapeake Ripper, that`t what we called him... or her..."  
"Did you get anywhere? Any clues or something?"  
"No. The world turned to shit before we could find anything."  
"Damn."  
Soon, both men turned to leave, to go back into Woodbury. Both knew, that the Governor wouldn`t be pleased.

When the duo arrived to Woodbury, Martinez had some news. Governor and some other guys had caught one from the prison group and brought him to the Woodbury, to interrogate.  
Merle was curious, Shane not so much. He didn`t seem to give a damn.  
"How does the prisoner look like?" asked Merle.  
"He`s a wierd guy, maybe an ex-cop or something. Had his cop hat on, when we got him."  
This caught Shane`s interest. "A cop you say? I`d like to see him!"  
"You have to wait hellowa lots of time. The Governor is having his time with him."  
"Damn!" Shane cursed. He was almost sure, that it was Rick.  
"What`s the matter?" asked Merle Dixon, wiping his hands into his jeans. "You know this guy, don`t ya?"  
"You know him too, Dixon. It`s Rick I guess..."  
"Officer friendly,"grinned Merle, "He`ll be black and blue after Governor has finished with him."  
"And then it`s my time,"added Shane grimly."He`d be happy to stay alive."  
"That bad, huh?"  
Shane Walsh didn`t answer, but Merle understood him anyway. 

"Are you from the prison group?" asked Philip Blake.  
Rick Grimes didn`t answer.   
"Are you or are you not?"  
When he didn`t get an answer still, the Governor yanked Rick by the hair and pulled him up.  
"When I ask you a question, you answer, asshole!" Philip roared.  
"I`m not gonna tell you anything..."  
Philip struck the side of his face. Rick`s head snapped to the side, lips got covered with blood.  
"Understood?" He pulled harder on Rick`s hair.   
Rick shook his head.  
Philip snarled like an angry dog and kicked him in the stomach. Rick coughed and fell to the floor, vision blurring.  
Philip kicked him in the ribs once, twice, three times. Rick felt something snap and then agonizing pain wrapped his cold fingers around his chest. He bit his lip to stop screaming, but instead pierced through his lower lip.  
A pause...  
"You`re pathetic and stubborn." the Governor sighed. "Maybe someone else will give you company as long as I got other business to do..."  
Rick started to shake violently. This torturing had continued for hours now and he just couldn`t stand it much more.


	6. Chapter 6

When Shane entered the so-called prison room, he couldn`t believe his eyes.  
Yeah, it was Rick, as he had thought, but in what state! Beaten, bloodi, barely conscious.  
Shane suddenly felt confused; a part of him wanted Rick to die painfully, another part felt...sympathy?  
"Shit." Shane whispered.  
Blood was everywhere. In Rick`s hair, dripping into his eyes, running down his neck. The stench of it filled his nostrils, making Rick gag.  
Yeah, being thrown against the floor was no fun.  
"Stay down," the Governor snarled.  
"No!" Shane`s voice came behind him. "Can`t you see, that he`s about to go unconscious? Leave him be!"  
Shane glared at Philip, his lip curling.  
Philip was too strong and angry, Shane had no choice against him.  
"Oh, don`t try to spook me, Walsh," Philip Blake waved a finger at Shane like he was a small kid." I just want some information from him..."  
Shane ignored the Governor and knelt down next to Rick.  
Philip Blake sighed. "You know Shane, I really don`t know what to do with this man here. He refuses to answer any of my questions. Maybe you can put some senses into him, huh?"  
Rick moaned quietly.  
Shane could see, that he`d been beaten up quite badly, bruises, blue and black marks on his body and face, even blood.  
Philip laughed and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.  
Shane didn`t know, what to do. For a time, that seemed like eternity, he just stood above Rick Grimes. Shane felt empty. It was like a void. A dark void. A never ending dark void that consumed everything, so Shane was left feeling nothing. Empty. Nothing to subside his hollow soul that creeped in the shadows, away from any other human life because it's emptiness was so consuming it couldn`t bare to pretend that everything is okay. The emptiness was always there; Shane considered himself decent at hiding it, masking it with normal human emotions. There wasn't any getting away from it. His nightmares seemed to help fill it, with what he didn't care to elaborate.  
Shane was standing in the middle of the twilight room, trying to think clearly. He couldn`t. His anger was getting the best of him.  
Biting his lip to calm down the feelings turmoiling inside, Shane knelt down next to Rick, who was motionless. But not dead. His chest was silently raising and falling.  
"Son of a fucking bitch!!" swore Shane. He just couldn`t kill the man infront of him.  
Holding his head between his hands, he left the room, leaving Rick to where he was.

Shane went, cursing under his breath, into the huge kitchen and collapsed on the floor.  
"Don`t tell me, you passed out?" he could hear Governor`s kind of surprised voice. "Un-fucking believable!"  
"Trying to catch my breath, if you don`t mind?" Shane Walsh tried to sound sarcastic. Then he sounded a bit irritated. "What we gonna do with him anyways?"  
Philip lifted his shoulders. "Honestly? I have no goddamn idea, Walsh."  
"I`d like to have my way with him, if you don`t mind?"  
"Do as you like. But don`t kill him."  
"Oh? Why the hell not?"  
The Governor scratched his forehead thoughtfully. "He might be connected to the gropu, that overtook the nearby prison..."  
"You don`t say..."Shane had somehow gotten to the same conclusion. "You might be right, Philip."

Rick had woken up in his room, looking for a way out. He didn`t remember much anything...but there was a familiar, but not so welcome voice.  
Shane...  
/ "Why...are you here?" asked Rick, trying to get up. "Defending me or...?"  
"I`m not defending your honor. I`m just not lettin` you get killed."/  
Rick swallowed. His whole body was hurting and head felt heavy. How could he get out without killing someone or getting himself killed?  
(TBC)


End file.
